Suse Barnes, Author at Digital Marketing Consulting, Social Media Marketing, Search Engine Marketing

Virtual Goods, Virtual Connections, Real People, Real Connections

August 13, 2009 Suse Barnes Leave a comment

According to E-Marketer spending on virtual goods is about to explode. How can this be? Why do people want to buy things that they can’t even touch, smell, taste or handle?

If you haven’t spent much time in virtual realities like Second Life, playing roler player games or sending virtual gifts on Facebook you may not be aware what these virtual goods are. They are things like virtual flowers, virtual cupcakes or even virtual hugs. Remember when you used to send someone a birthday card or present in the mail when you couldn’t see them in person? Well in the digital age this process is being completed via emails, SMS messages and even more – virtual cards and even virtual gifts.

It’s the thought that counts, right? Well if it really is, then whether the gift is virtual or physical it shouldn’t matter. Could that be why virtual goods are a growing industry? Is everyone just being budget conscious or cheap by sending virtual gifts? I don’t think so. I think it’s all about connections.

Let’s face it, the world we live in today is much smaller than it was even twenty years ago, because there are many more opportunities to remain connected with people all over the world despite any physical distances. Virtual gifting is a way to let your friends and family know you care about them. My friend Helen sends her friends virtual flowers and gifts for birthdays. Because of that she is top of mind to me and likely most of her other friends when we think about a friend who knows how to play the piano or do administrative work at a law firm.

Showing you care is a way of building connections with people and virtual goods offer a way for you to do that. That’s one reason.

The other reason is that your virtual presence is just as important as your physical presence. Think about it. How many people can you talk to or be in front of physically in one day unless you are at a conference or giving a presentation? In the virtual world there are endless opportunities to be on various networks connecting, sharing, listening and talking with people. Sometime you may not even be aware of the people who are following you.

Virtual goods enable people to improve their virtual presence (avatars) and profiles and since trends in the digital space change so rapidly, there is always an opportunity to purchase something more up-to-date. The good news here, except for the expense is that virtual goods are a zero waste product. That’s the joy of virtual – nothing to throw away, recycle or feel guilty about buying because you’re ultimately adding to the physical landfill. Virtual waste is far more easily erased.

I think we are just at the tip of the virtual ice berg, ha ha, but it’s something to be aware of at least for the near and virtual future.

Facebook, Social Media connections, Facebook, virtual reality

My Pub’s On Facebook

August 9, 2009 Suse Barnes One comment

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/staci/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

For the past few years I have been a member of Kezar Road Runners, a fabulous group of runners who meet every Wednesday at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco. We do a speed workout under the direction of Coach Joe and that is a story for another post, but just know that he is one of the kindest people you’ll ever meet and the best friend you could ever have. He’s also a great coach, an accomplished runner and just an overall good guy.

After Joe’s workouts, the tradition is to head over to Kezar pub for a pint or two of Guinness or your beverage of choice. It’s the best part of the evening, not only because you deserve it after the track workout, but also because you get to spend some quality time with interesting people with a variety of backgrounds and careers, but with one important thing in common: an appreciation for running.

So that’s why I’m at the pub on Wednesday evenings (well as much as I can anyway.) My reason for this post however, is that I was recently invited to become a fan of Kezar Pub on Facebook. Of course I accepted the invitation because Kezar Pub rocks and it’s definitely the Cheers of San Francisco. I know the names of the bar tenders and the very appropriately Irish and as appropriately hilarious Sinead is even a Facebook friend.

Thinking about this, I’m not sure if Kezar Pub understands the value of their presence on Facebook, but it makes me smile anyway. They can now

build a fan base BEFORE they need it so that when they do need it, they can notify their fans of events – the jello wrestling fund raisers are always fun!
understand who their fans are and make them feel important by providing special offers – nudge nudge, wink wink, can we get a Facebook Freebie please Bridgett?
be available for public comment online (for free) even though they don’t have a website – what no website yet? Scandelous! (but actually do they even need one? Could their Facebook presence be enough?)
offer information about hours, payment methods and updates
let their fans promote the pub through the social network effect with comments and photos (again for free)

Kezar Pub should have a website, but I’m sure they don’t feel like they need one. They are a San Francisco staple for both locals and sports fans. Most importantly, they are real and a cold one always goes down well after a good workout. Welcome to Facebook, Kezar Pub!

Cheers!

Facebook, Fun, Social Media Facebook

A Comparison of Twitter with Blogging

August 6, 2009 Suse Barnes Leave a comment

I’m reading “Naked Conversations” by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel as a result of reading “Putting the Public Back into Public Relations” by Brian Solis and Deidre Brekenridge. What is it with dual authors? I guess the “two minds are better than a guru” adage applies with book writing too.

Anyway, “Naked Conversations” is an older book about blogging and while it is old in terms of the fact that blogging has been around for years now, I am enjoying the corollaries that I am finding between blogging and microblogging (and more specifically in my case Twitter, since that’s my microblogging platform of choice.)

On page 28, Naked Conversations talks about Blogging’s Six Pillars (from 2006) and I chuckle as I think about the similarities that Twitter has in 2009:

1. Publishable – “Anyone can publish a blog.” Anyone can tweet.
2. Findable – “Blog posts are search engine friendly.” Twitter posts (tweets) show up on search engines all the time.
3. Social – “The blogosphere is one big conversation.” Twitter is a great conversation starter. Many people think of twitter as a cocktail party where you chat with people who share similar interests. Conversations are short and fun. You converse more with those who you have more in common with.
4. Viral – “Information often spreads faster though blogs than via a news service.” Anyone heard of “Twitter-time?” Some say they get their news from Twitter now instead of any other news service.
5. Syndicatable – “RSS…” Um… RT is the ultimate in syndication and there are all kinds of tools that allow you to syndicate other people’s tweets.
6. Linkable – “Because each blog can link to all others, every blogger has access to millions of other bloggers.” Twitter is all about sharing links and repeating (RT’ing or Retweeting) the links that other people have tweeted. It’s a love fest of links and information on your favorite topic.

Fun isn’t it? Are you tweeting yet?

Blogging, Internet, Social Media, Twitter blogging, Social Media, Twitter

Social Media Monitoring

July 31, 2009 Suse Barnes Leave a comment

In Tom Forenski’s “No Social Media Monitoring By Apple Or Wells Fargo Yet Still Successful” post today he argues that it may be best to ignore criticism instead of monitoring comments about your brand on the social media networks.

Forenski says “Whenever there is criticism of Apple in the mediasphere I rarely see an Apple response. By mediasphere I mean the entire media landscape from traditional media through to social media, Twitter, etc,” implying that since Apple is a very successful company, perhaps other companies should mimic Apple’s behavior and stop monitoring, thus negating the need for social media marketing consultants such as myself and/or companies employing community managers.

I wonder if this isn’t the same as the “tree falls down in the woods and no-one was there to hear it” scenario. Did the tree make a sound? Using that as the analogy, was your complaint heard?

The benefit companies are receiving by listening and responding is in the brand equity that is earned a result of good customer service. Apple may be succeeding without social media, and maybe it’s only those companies that are struggling that really need to dive deep into it, but I think you’re right in saying that since Apple has done such a good job building it’s community of followers already. Apple knows that the community will respond where necessary. Perhaps Apple doesn’t need to participate in social media spaces as much as other companies, because their fan base is already doing it for them.

Create a good product and your customers will market it for you, right? What then is the critical mass where you can then turn off the volume on negative feedback and/or complaints? It seems you may need to be as successful as Apple to be able to do that.

Marketing, Social Media Social Media

For the Joy of Teaching

July 28, 2009 Suse Barnes Leave a comment

Last night I taught a Marketing with Search Engines class for Classes for Causes. The class was held to benefit Symphony Parnassus and I raised $64 for the orchestra. Classes for Causes is a non-profit dedicated to connecting people to raise money and awareness for various causes through teaching and learning. Anyone can teach a class about anything they want and the money they earn in tuition is donated to the charity of the instructor’s choice.

There were just two students, so it was very intimate and actually just perfect. Most people would cancel or postpone a class if only two people signed up, but not me, I guess I just love the experience of teaching too much. It was such a pleasure to have time for each student to participate, ask as many questions as they wanted and really understand the concepts of the subject. Teaching that way is a lot more like consulting than giving a lecture. It’s a conversation which sparks ideas and nurtures the learning process. When learning is fun, you learn more and digestion of the knowledge is easier.

I am extrememly grateful for the interest my students have in the subject matter and confidence in my ability to help them learn. It is an honor to teach and a pleasure to learn from my students. Thank you Aimee and Brian. I can’t wait to see what you do with your new found Marketing with Search knowledge.

Random, Search class, search engines, teaching

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